Those who get bored stuffing themselves with stuffing can now use Thanksgiving to get a jump on their holiday shopping.

While many retailers still wait for the day after Thanksgiving to kick off the season, grocery and convenience store chains such as Albertson’s Inc. and 7-Eleven Inc. used Turkey Day this year to show off their trendy toys and other gifts.

Albertson’s, for example, teamed up with Toys R Us Inc. to offer a whole line of toys, including Barbie herself.

And at 7-Eleven,folks stopping by for a quart of milk found gifts in a wide range of prices, according to spokeswoman Margaret Chabris. At the high end – $99.99 after a $30 rebate – there’s Ogo, a gadget that sends instant messages. For those watching their pennies, a Jessica Simpson CD exclusive to 7-Eleven sells for a mere $7.99.

Then there’s Big Lots Inc., which offered 25% more specials on Thanksgiving Day than it did a year ago, said a senior vice president of marketing, Kent Larsson. They included $99 recliners, marked down from $199.79, and $10 4-foot prelit trees, slashed from $24.99.

Wal-Mart’s 1,600 super centers nationwide were open, though no special deals were planned. Most of the 1,500 Kmart stores were open, featuring specials on board games and GameBoy Advance.

At a Wal-Mart in Chili, a suburb of Rochester, 30-year-old forklift operator Jeremy Louis bought clothes and toys early yesterday to squirrel away for his two children, ages 1 and 4.

“I kind of married into the tradition” of commencing Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving Day, Mr. Louis said. “We usually put the bird in before we go out and let it cook itself.”

In the online world, Wal-Mart and Sears, Roebuck and Co. – among others – were hoping to capitalize on what they say is a dramatic increase in customer traffic to their sites on Thanksgiving by giving special discounts as rewards.

For the second holiday season in a row, Sears gave customers early access to Friday’s deals, letting them order Thursday on the Web and pick up merchandise in the stores over the weekend. Wal-Mart kicked off online holiday shopping earlier this year by offering discounts on such items as diamond bracelets and cappuccino makers for four days through Thanksgiving.

“Thursday is becoming more important for shopping, for several reasons,” said a retail strategist at consulting firm Kurt Salmon Associates, Jim Neal. “Some families are de-emphasizing the big deal family meal. Others may be cooking ahead, freeing up time to go shopping.”

Last year, the busiest day of the shopping season was the Friday after Thanksgiving instead of the last Saturday before Christmas, the second busiest day, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. That reversed a trend seen over the last 10 years, when the busiest day was the Saturday before Christmas, according to the chief economist at the industry group, Mike Niemira.